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PHILADELPHIA — Skyy Clark flashed a gap-toothed smile and said there was only one place to put a chunk of the top front tooth that he lost during UCLA’s NCAA Tournament win over UCF.
Under the pillow, of course.
There was no telling what Clark would find there in the morning – though if anyone in the Philadelphia area had the name of an oral surgeon, the Bruins guard would gladly take one.
In the locker room after UCLA beat UCF 75-71 – a win that Clark secured when he shook off throbbing pain to sink a free throw – Clark said he was at about a nine on a scale of 10.
“It definitely hurt,” he said. “I have a little lisp going on.”
Clark indeed spoke differently – teammate Eric Dailey Jr. compared him to boxer Mike Tyson – in the aftermath of the incident.
“He looked so good in the locker room,” coach Mick Cronin said. “Looks like a boxer. Keep trying to talk to these guys about my old days. He just looked tough. Looks tough. In the locker room, smiling. There’s blood.”
Clark lost the tooth late in the game when he dived for a loose ball and took an elbow to the face from a UCF defender. The tooth went flying and members of the UCLA staff scurried around to try and find it.
UCLA walk-on Jack Seidler found the tooth.
Seidler’s role on the Bruins is simple: “Whatever they ask me to do, I’ll do it. Whatever helps the team.”
In this instance, Seidler – who didn’t even play – had the assist of the night.
“Somebody’s got to get it, somebody’s got to get it,” Seidler said his teammates and other staff yelled as Clark got up off the court.
Seidler got it. He said his cellphone blew up with social media posts and direct messages about his 15 minutes of fame.
He gave all the credit to Clark for staying in the game and helping the Bruins hold off a late push by UCF.
“That’s toughness right there,” Seidler said. “Losing half a tooth and coming back into the game to help us get the win.”
As for that foul shot, Clark said it was all part of the game.
“I had my adrenaline going so I really didn’t feel it,” he said.
Clark is part of a toothless trend of late. New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes had some teeth knocked out before he won Olympic gold in hockey for the United States.
Cronin and the Bruins – they are no March Madness Cinderellas but could still use a tooth fairy – are on to the second round. He’d like everyone to have a full mouth of teeth when they play Sunday against either UConn or Furman.
“(We) need – what is it? The dental stuff. An oral surgeon,” Cronin said. “We need a late-night oral surgeon.”
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